Emily - have you ever tried playing nude sitting down? If so, please tell us whether that worked out at all. I would think that whatever the advantages it would have in terms of attracting patrons, it would be much more difficult for the musicians and on balance not help your cause.

Elizabeth! That was the most bizarre story I've ever read! How on earth did you hunt THAT one down? Just hilarious. (A rather bizarre writing style as well, like something experimental you'd find in a literary journal that's entirely in 2nd person present tense.) Thanks for posting this, er, chilling story. ((Oh har har...))

Terez, I remember seeing a photograph of a nude woman playing the "ice cello" in Time magazine when I was a girl. It's always stuck in my mind and I've looked it up from time to time. This is the first time I found this weird letter, though. I hope others read it-- it's worth a look.

Oh, this ice cello business is just cracking me up. Good point, Karen, on sound. I mean, really - HOW could it produce sound? What a funny, funny mental image, having a nude woman snuggle up to this thing and play it.

I love this site. I'm learning so much more about music and musicians than I would have though possible. : /

Since the cellist is required to play until the instrument melts, we'd end up with a concerto that lasted six months. I doubt she'd make it. The people in the town would make bets as to the exact time she would thaw out in the spring.

Thanks, Kelsey. Allow me rephrase my question then; Why do soloists dress so differently? Shouldn't the music distinguish soloists, not what they wear?

We've just been to a chamber concert. They played Piazzolla pieces among others. Female members try to bring Tango in by wearing something red. I appreciated their efforts, but compared to the music itself what they were wearing seemed rather insignificant(?). I am sure I am the strange one. To me the first note already spoke Tango loud and clear. The dresses were distracting since they didn't seem red enough compared to the music.

Ihnshouk, music really should be the distinguishing feature. I guess people just want to stand out from the orchestra. I personally like doing solo recitals and concertos where I get to put on a different outfit than the usual black pants and blouse. Some people do take it over the top though. For me, it's comfort and class with a bit of glam (like the dress in my most recent blog posting) but hopefully not enough of any of those to distract from my playing. I think it's fine as a soloist to dress up and dress different from the orchestra but I do agree that sometimes it's a little over the top. I saw one pianist once play in what looking like a shiny, wrinkled house coat and another time in this mustard snake like dress thing with red stilletos and the dress verging on the point of falling off... those people I guess made up for their poor playing in their fashion sense....or matched it with their lack of it?

...on the other hand, regarding unfortunate fashion choices, I once played an orchestra concert where we had a female violin soloist who was wearing a very pretty strapless gown. Unfortunately it didn't fit very well. Thankfully a major catastrophe never occured, but according to some audience members it looked a bit precarious there for a while. And that was from the front, just trust me about what it looked like from the back...